Friday 28 October 2005

By Maria Ahmed, Simeon Brody, Derren Hayes and Amy Taylor

Almost 11 million people in Britain have taken drugs

Almost 11 million Britons have taken illegal drugs, four million have experimented with class A substances and 2.1 million use drugs every month, according to the British Crime Survey.
But there are signs that drug taking is beginning to level off or fall.

Source:- The Independent Friday 28 October 2005 p12


Joyrider fought legal battle to hide his ID after killing unborn baby is named

A High Court judge ruled that a 17-year-old joy rider can be named and shamed so local motorists could recognise him. The decision was taken by JPs in King’s Lynn.

Source:- The Sun, Friday 28 October 2005, page 23

Mum blew £250,000 on crack praised for kicking habit

An addict who blew £250,000 on drugs in under two years was praised by a judge for kicking the habit.
Single mum Angela Bolton, 33, quit crack and heroin for the sake of her 15-year-old daughter. Gloucester Crown Court heard she had beat her addiction after completing a 12-month drug treatment and testing order.

Source:- The Sun Friday 28 October 2005 page 39

‘Disgrace’ as nine out of ten young criminals re-offend

Youth Justice Board figures showed that nine out of 10 teenage criminals on the intensive supervision and surveillance programme reoffend.
Shadow home secretary David Davis called the figures an “utter disgrace.”

Source:- The Daily Mail Friday 28 October 2005 page 18

Bottom of the league

The police force that failed to spot Soham murderer Ian Huntley’s pattern of sex crimes is the worst-performing in the country, a Home Office report said yesterday.
Humberside police gained the lowest score out of the 43 forces in England and Wales under a new monitoring scheme.

Source:- The Daily Mail Friday 28 October 2005 page 35

Jails drugs on call

Prisoners are using mobile phones to arrange drug deals and arrange for packages of cannabis to be thrown over jail walls for collection, Home Office research says.

Source:- The Times Friday 28 October 2005 page 2

Diocese has had 26 alleged child abusers, says bishop

An Irish bishop has admitted the extent of child sex abuse allegations against priests in his diocese, revealing yesterday that 26 have been accused in 40 years.
The Roman Catholic Bishop of Derry, held an unprecedented press conference of an Irish government report into the Diocese of Ferns, Co Wicklow, which was revealed as having the world’s highest rate of clerical abuse allegations.

Source:- The Times Friday 28 October 2005 page 13

Racist language still used by police

Some police officers still use racist language and ethnic minorities get poor service from the police, according to two reports into the impact of the Lawrence inquiry.

Source:- The Independent Friday 28 October 2005 p16

Abortion does not increase depression risk, study finds

Aborting an unwanted foetus during a woman’s first pregnancy does not increase her risk of depression and may make her less likely to suffer the blues, according to research in the online British Medical Journal.

Source:- The Guardian Friday 28 October 2005 p6

Winter deaths “a scar on society”

Charities blamed government policies for the first rise in “excess” winter deaths for five years. Help the Aged said the new figures were a “scar on society” and that high fuel costs, poverty and under-funding played a part in the 31,600 excess deaths, the majority among older people.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph Friday 28 October 2005 p1

Scottish news

Young offenders jail to ease overcrowding

A second young offenders institution is being planned to ease chronic overcrowding in a Scottish jail.
More than 870 inmates are currently staying at Polmont Young Offenders Institution, which is designed to cope with only 640. But plans are being drawn up by the Prison Service to move up to 200 young inmates to a unit next to Perth Prison in the coming months when two Victorian halls at Polmont are demolished under moves to eradicate slopping-out.

Source:- The Scotsman Friday 28 October

Record 210 Scots are on ASBOS

A record number of Scots are the subject of antisocial behaviour orders.
A total of 210 ASBOs were taken out last year, up 42 per cent on the previous 12 months and the highest number since the special orders were introduced in 1999. Making the announcement, Hugh Henry, the deputy justice minister, said that an increasing number of local councils were now prepared to use ASBOs to deal with young people.

Source:- The Scotsman Thursday 28 October

Welsh news

Volunteer hosts to help the homeless

A project that involves emergency accommodation for young homeless people provided by volunteer hosts is being launched in Carmarthenshire.
The Nightstop scheme aims to give young people a chance to take stock of their situation while permanent accommodation is found for them.
Carmarthenshire is only the second county in Wales to run the scheme.

Source:- Western Mail Friday 28 October

Shop keeper fined £900 for selling booze to boy, 15

A shop owner in Swansea has been fined for selling alcohol to a 15-year-old boy who was part of an undercover operation being carried out by the council’s Trading Standards Department.
Kamljit Kaur Johal, who owns the Cross Stores in Ravenhill, North Swansea, pleaded not guilty to selling alcohol to underage people but he was fined £900.
The undercover operation was carried out in August 2004.

Source:- Western Mail Friday 28 October

Unauthorised absences increase

The number of unauthorised absences from Welsh schools is at its highest since 1996, according to new figures from the National Assembly.
However, the number of authorised absences is at its lowest for the past 10 years.
Children were found to be more likely to be absent in schools were large numbers of pupils qualify for free school meals.

Source:- Western Mail Friday 28 October

Judge lets 37k benefit fraudster walk free

A care worker who claimed more than £37, 000 while she was in paid employment escaped jail yesterday at Cardiff Crown Court.
Beverley Hayes, 46, claimed income support while working for two employment agencies.
Hayes said that she thought that she qualified for the benefits because she was sick at the time she claimed them.
Lawrence Jones, defending, said that she was suffering from asthma, arthritis and depression and that she was forced to work by her abusive partner.
She received a 12 months prison sentence suspended for two years.

Source:- Western Mail Friday 28 October